Indonesian air crash investigators have announced crew action caused a loss of control and the stalling of an AirAsia passenger jet that crashed into the Java Sea last year, killing all 162 aboard.

The National Transport Safety Committee today released a statement saying the Airbus A320’s flight control computer had a cracked component that repeatedly malfunctioned during the flight, according to Reuters.

"Subsequent flight crew action resulted in inability to control the aircraft ... causing the aircraft to depart from the normal flight envelope and enter a prolonged stall condition that was beyond the capability of the flight crew to recover," the committee said in a statement.

The missing plane triggered a massive air and sea search. (AFP) (AAP)

According to the report the flight control computer had malfunctioned four times during the flight and 23 times in the previous year.

Cracked soldering in the component caused it to malfunction and send repeated warning messages to the pilots.

When they received the fourth warning, the pilots pulled circuit-breakers on one of the aircraft's computers, removing power from the faulty system in a bid to reset it. But in doing so, they also turned off the plane's autopilot.

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The crash of the Airbus A320-200 triggered a huge international search, with ships and aircraft from several nations involved in a lengthy hunt that was hampered by strong currents and bad weather. The bodies of 56 victims were never recovered.

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